Pine-Richland spurns Canon-McMillan in overtime
GIBSONIA – A battered and bruised Canon-McMillan boys soccer team that had lost two All-Section players for the season gave Pine-Richland all it could handle Monday night, but came up short.
Ryan Cashman scored on a free kick from 24 yards six minutes into the first overtime and the No. 7 Rams earned a 2-1 win over the No. 10 Big Macs in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
Pine-Richland (9-5-3) advanced to play No. 2 Seneca Valley in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Canon-McMillan finished 6-8-3.
With overtime being eliminated in the regular season for 2026, this was the first time either team had experienced an extra frame.
Cashman lined up from the middle of the field and struck a clean shot for his second goal of the game. Then he ripped his jersey off and ran over to the student section.
“The kid hit a heck of a shot,” Canon-McMillan coach Tom Sochacki said. “Hats off to the kid. He hit a great shot. We lost possession and took a lazy foul that gave them the opportunity, because we were tired in overtime. Give the kid credit for finishing it.”
In September, Canon-McMillan was in first place in Section 2, but were dealt injuries to Cooper Felix and Jackson Gibson, two of the best players on the team.
It led to a difficult October where the Big Macs went winless over their final seven games, but they put up a fight against the Rams.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the boys,” Sochaki said. “We were sitting in first place and then we lost two kids to injury and probably had three more that shouldn’t have been out there tonight because they were injured. It showed over the last two and a half weeks, but I have to give the boys credit for battling and willing to change the way we played.
“The game was there to win, but we just didn’t get it done.”
Canon-McMillan had the best chance at a goal in the second half.
Julien Saintonge, who scored in the first half, had a clear-cut breakaway, but his shot was stopped by Pine-Richland keeper Jackson Dutton, who sprawled to keep the ball out.
Cashman had a free kick from 24 yards in the 89th minute, but it curled over the cross bar on the right side for the last good chance at a winner before overtime.
After Pine-Richland had controlled most of the first half, Saintonge made it a brand-new game in the 39th minute.
Saintonge pounced on a rebound off a shot by Dante Pasquarelli and put it in the net to tie the score at 1-1.
Dutton made the initial save, but the ball bounced off him right to Saintonge, who cleaned it up.
Pine-Richland’s first half goal came in the 16th minute off the lone corner kick it had in the first 40 minutes.
Ethan Hiserodt put in a dangerous inswinger that landed in a pack of players by the goal. Cashman found the ball and kicked it into the net past Big Macs keeper Logan Fisher.
Fisher had a couple of nice saves before the goal, including one on a long, low shot with pace from outside the 18-yard box by Cashman.
Prior to his goal, Saintonge also had the other best scoring chance in the first half for the Big Macs when he had a one-on-one with Dutton, but didn’t get all of a bouncing ball and Dutton saved it.
It was a chippy first half with three yellow cards shown, two to Pine-Richland.
The physical play came to a head early in the second half when Canon-McMillan’s Ben Debbis was sent off for accruing a second yellow card.
Because it was the accumulation of two yellow cards, the Big Macs were able to bring in a sub and continue playing with 11 on the field.